Into the Mountains of Laos

---

After six hours of standing and waiting in the sweltering heat to receive a stamp on our passports at Thai Immigration, we made it through the border at Aranyaprathet. We swiftly moved forward, hiring a tuk-tuk to take us to the bus station. Catching the last bus through to our next destination in the late afternoon, we arrived in Nakhon Ratchasima (locally known as Khorat) an hour shy of midnight. Another tuk-tuk, to a name pulled from our guide book, and we arrived at the Tokyo Mansion. The next day we decided to take a little side venture into the surrounding area of Northeastern Thailand. A 20 baht, hour-long, local bus ride later and we arrived in the meagre town of Phimai. Getting off in the town's centre, we came across a game of Sepak Tekraw (a game similar to volleyball, but with small bamboo balls and their feet. It was an intense game of flips and strikes over the net. After the game was over we wandered to our right, where there was a large crumbling monument. A religious monument, said a plaque, that lay southeast of the temple of Prasat Phimai. This was our ultimate destination and we came to it a block ahead.

The Phimai temple itself was made of an almost white sandstone, while others around it were simply brown. The trimmed and well-kept grounds and temple that had a sense of solitude and space. I felt as though I could breathe more easily here, in the shade of the enormous trees that dotted the grounds. The sojourn was topped off with another sepak tekraw game near the bus stop. We were back in our room before sunset. Moving on, we boarded a train at sunrise. Third class had flat bench seats, which we still managed to sleep on. Trains are my favourite mode of transportation. For four dollars, the two of us travelled for ten hours on a train. Though we switched a number of times we managed to arrive only an hour late. We crammed into a jumbo tuk-tuk with a German man, his Viet wife and their daughter. At the border we were approached by this same guy; he wanted to share a van to the city of Vientiane with us. Absolutely, said we. After fifteen minutes of forms and papers we climbed into the van. I was offered a sandwich; they insisted I take at least one. It was a very good sandwich, and we struck up a good conversation with these people. We arrived, and they wished us luck.

Our first night in Vientiane was spent at an over-priced riverfront guesthouse called the Orchid Guesthouse. The next day was spent at a much nicer place: the Mixay Guesthouse, where for ten dollars less we had twice the room quality. In and around the city there was little to do. Rented bikes were ridden along the riverfront boardwalk and around town. There was a nightly market on the riverfront, but the goods had little variety and were expensive. The entire town was expensive by Southeast Asian standards. So, we were to take the "VIP" bus, 11 hours, to Luang Prabang in central Laos. Air-conditioning petered out during the hottest, most humid time of day and we often stopped to pick up people on the side of the road. There was even a rooster on board. The upside to this marathon was the outstanding mountain scenery. Unlike anything I have ever seen before, these mountains rose as jagged peaks and were wildly forested. Higher we climbed, winding around and around the sides of these mountains. A valley emerged as the sun was setting, and we had arrived in Luang Prabang.

Right from the bus station, a meek-looking local with a genuine disposition offered us a room for a decent price. Simply tired and looking to lay down, we agreed. To our surprise we found the room to be top quality, with two beds and every amenity we could possibly need. We even have a porch. With a reassuring, "You can pay in the morning," and a "Goodnight," Krista and I settled in and enjoyed a good night's rest. Over the next couple of days Krista was bedridden due to some stomach problems, so we took that as an opportunity to slow down and relax. A visit to the doctor at the China-Lao Provincial Hospital got her feeling better and we started to make plans. The following morning (March 2nd, my birthday) we hired a Songthaew to take us to the Kuangxi Waterfalls. The trip was short; an hour ride through the valley around the city and the foothills of the surrounding mountains. At the entrance, there was an enclosure filled with the Asiatic Moon Bear and the Malayan Sun Bear. Great, fluffy, lumbering bulks, with the Sun Bear being the smaller and fluffier of the two. A short trek through a well-kept pathway and we arrived at the bottom level of the waterfalls. It was a pool of translucent turquoise. There were lesser waterfalls and other pools as we made our way up to the main sight.

Just under the main waterfall, is a fairly large pool where the locals have placed a swinging rope from a tree that overhangs it. Krista and I jumped off the smaller waterfall and off the tree-rope, taking turns capturing it on camera. The water was thoroughly chilling, but the jumps were exhilirating. We dried off and made our way back to the entrance. After a bite to eat we headed back into Luang Prabang. These following nights were spent in the night market and at the affordable cafes dotted throughout the city. We would often buy cheap baked goods at night for our meals the next morning. Our other attempt was a fishing trip, though our tour company was poorly equipped, had only one rod (which I only got to use for an hour total) and a small boat that filled with water. This was well underpar for the price we paid, and after hearing so many good things after the ecotourism here in northern Laos we were disappointed. One highlight was an elephant ride they allowed us to have after we were back from the river. I'll never forget the feeling of hopping down onto the bare neck of that massive creature, nor the feeling of its coarse hair under my hands as I reach forward for balance. Its ears flapped back over my legs as it made its way in a short loop around the grounds. Still, we managed to get a free ride to our next destination from the company, after we asked for a refund.

And further north we went...



Jord::

---